Sport

Danny Hughes: Down have big questions to answer after humbling at the hands of Donegal

Down find themselves at a crossroads after their defeat to Donegal in the Ulster Championship at Pairc Esler on Sunday Picture: Philip Walsh
Down find themselves at a crossroads after their defeat to Donegal in the Ulster Championship at Pairc Esler on Sunday Picture: Philip Walsh Down find themselves at a crossroads after their defeat to Donegal in the Ulster Championship at Pairc Esler on Sunday Picture: Philip Walsh

AS a county, where do Down go now?

Donegal had last weekend’s Ulster Championship prelimary round match won by half-time and while you could argue that Jamie Brennan took too many steps, this was a game Declan Bonner's men never looked in danger of losing.

As I said before, Down were always going into this game as underdogs and retaining their Division Two status was of utmost importance to this particular panel of players.

In the context of last weekend’s result, perhaps Down found their level against teams likes Laois and Westmeath.

The thing with all the criticism that will be thrown their way in the weeks and months ahead, is that the players actually in the panel are incredibly committed.

I have no doubt the will is there.

A number of recent ex-players, of which I was one, were involved in securing the current management team's services three seasons ago.

Paddy Tally was coach of Galway at the time and the Tribesmen worked hard to retain his services.

If you recall Galway were trying to break into the top table, competing for a National League title and in the semi-finals of the All-Ireland Championship.

He had also guided St Mary’s University to an unlikely Sigerson Cup title.

Don’t forget St Mary’s have never had the resources of Queens or Ulster University.

Paddy was also familiar with Down football through his role as coach of the senior county team in the past and having managed a number of players through third level education.

There are many 'hurlers on the ditch' when it comes to coaching and managing a team.

Within management, especially at that elite level, you have around 30 individuals who feel that they should be in the first 15.

Paddy Tally has found retention of players a problem.

The reality is that only the absent players and Paddy himself will understand why.

If there is a change in management, any new manager will have the exact same problem.

Unfortunately, from a tactical perspective, Paddy has not solved the kick-out problem.

There has been no progress in this regard over three seasons.

Mark Twain stated that there are ‘lies, damned lies and statistics’.

One could argue statistics all day long on certain pre-planned kick-out routines, but the ‘eye test’ is another thing and this reality does not make for comfortable viewing in three seasons.

Down set up very defensively and were beaten by 16 points.

I would question this tactical approach - by this logic if they hadn’t approached the game in this manner, would Down have been beaten by 32 points?

Kevin Madden, in his analysis of the Down-Donegal game, was on the money in Monday’s Irish News and rightly pointed to the fact that Down simply did not apply any pressure on the man in possession.

Ryan McHugh was just one example of a player who was left with time and space to run into and shoot from distance without a glove laid on him.

You would regularly see Down man-markers happy to stand alongside their opposite number, the result being that the ball carrier had a free run into space and time to pick a pass, or shoot accurately.

On the field, it was a case of every Down man for himself.

If you want to win big Championship games, Donegal’s selflessness in approach play is as important as any scores executed.

To paraphrase George Orwell, Championship football is 'war minus the shooting' and the fundamentals are that you need to be at least aggressive in the tackle.

The opening five minutes epitomised the gulf in class. Down players were shooting and missing from distance while Donegal were taking their chances.

That opening five minutes epitomised Down’s shooting accuracy, returning an embarrassing 30 per cent from play as compared to Donegal’s 71 per cent.

The one positive for Down was Barry O’Hagan who was brilliant throughout.

O'Hagan showed this potential last season against Fermanagh and a standout performance against Donegal last weekend has further cemented his status within the Down forward line.

I actually do not believe Down are as bad as the result suggests.

Admittedly, though, generally they lack physicality in key sectors of the field.

Without any obvious players available within the county, to compensate for this lack of physicality, Paddy Tally needed to be innovative in his coaching and tactical approach.

Given the way the modern game has developed, even in the last few seasons, we have moved on from the defensive mire adopted by underdogs.

Down needed to be competitive and they simply did not make Donegal work for the win.

For me that is the most disappointing aspect of the performance.

Donegal didn’t need to have Michael Murphy firing on all cylinders, in fact, in hindsight Declan Bonner will regret playing him at all.

Derry will provide a much sterner test and given the Oak Leafers are buoyed by back-to-back promotions, they will take some lessons in how not to play against Donegal from Down’s limp performance.

Tally has been unlucky in many respects given that Covid has hampered preparations for two seasons now.

There is no doubt that for mid-tiered teams, such as Down, a run in the Qualifiers can help develop and improve a team’s long-term development.

This has not been possible in the last two years and in many ways this is a crossroads for Paddy Tally and the Down County Board. They are no closer to competing with Ulster’s big guns and the some of the reasons as to why that same gulf exists lies well beyond Tally’s influence.

Ultimately, inter-county football is a results business.

As a player, all you really care about is winning – how this is done or who takes you there is largely irrelevant.

Down didn’t even make last weekend’s game competitive so before you win, you have to fight.

On that basis, I think decisions on the future direction of Down football will be made.

ANTRIM have a free shot at Armagh and, on the back of a promotion, Enda McGinley will have the Saffrons well drilled to resist Armagh’s challenge.

It is hard to look past the Orchardmen winning this tie, however, I think Antrim will make them work for it.

McGinley’s ex-team mate Ryan McMenamen has a tough assignment in plotting a win against Monaghan in Clones.

The battling qualities Monaghan have shown this year show they have are a force to be reckoned with and you have to admire their spirit and Banty’s ability to re-energise an aging squad that has gone to the well repeatedly, delivering big results season after season.

One thing Monaghan will be wary about is complacency so given last year’s result against Cavan, the Farneymen need no additional motivation this time around.

There is a potential Ulster final in them and Armagh are by now means overwhelming favourites to make the provincial decider.

There is a fair bit of football to be played long before we get to that particular game.